The Triptych: A Masterpiece in Three Parts

Skill and spiritual insights produce a three-in-one work of art

The central panel of the Portinari Triptych tells the Nativity story with some time travel. Detail of Portinari Triptych, circa 1475, by Hugo van der Goes. 19.1 feet by 9.9 feet. Uffizi Gallery. (Public Domain)

It’s time for prayer. The businessman opens first the left, then the right side of his hinged painting and spends time with God.

In the Early Renaissance, a rich merchant would often want to thank God for his good fortune. As a devout believer, he would commission a triptych for his home, a small, three-paneled painting to be placed in a niche as a personal shrine.

The three panels work as one, going from one direction to another, or its side panels embellish the story depicted in the center.

Later, churches commissioned larger triptychs to be positioned above their main altars. Accomplished artists accommodated these requests with beautiful paintings on each panel that told an important religious story. The back of the piece was also painted and, when closed, could display more of the story on the back of the panels.

The triptych’s central panel would generally be larger, often twice the size of the two side panels, so the hinged side panels could close and meet over the central panel for safe storage.

Robert Campin’s Mérode

When visitors see the Mérode triptych (named for the previous owner, comtesse Marie-Nicolette de Mérode) at The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Cloisters in New York, they are astonished at its small size: only 2 feet by 4 feet when open to full size. The beauty of the colors and skillful detail of the figures and objects show a master at work. Attributed to an artist of the Netherlands, Robert Campin, the painting was made circa 1425 during a period known as the Northern Renaissance.

Mérode Altarpiece, circa 1425, by Robert Campin, Oil on oak panel triptych, 2 feet by 4 feet. The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Cloisters, New York. (Public Domain)

This triptych shows a mastery of color, light, and perspective. The central panel tells the story of the Annunciation, when God sent the angel Gabriel to announce to Mary that she would bear a son, Jesus. It is a homey setting, where Mary in a shimmering red gown is in her home reading from a sacred text. At first, she is not aware of her winged heavenly visitor who wears a white robe with a blue tie. The colors on the main figures stand out against the neutral browns of the furnishings and walls. A lily symbolizing purity is on the table. The ceiling beams and the bench that Mary leans on are painted in perspective as they diminish to an unseen vanishing point in the background.

The side panels enrich the story unfolding in the center. The left panel portrays the painting’s donor and his wife, wealthy merchants who reverently kneel in an enclosed garden space with a high stone wall. A door is open to the main room of Mary’s home where they witness the miracle taking place. Also on this panel, the colors are muted, in browns, so as to not take away from the brilliant colors of the central panel. The natural scene continues on the left panel with birds on the wall and violets in the foreground that both symbolize Mary’s modesty, faithfulness, and spiritual wisdom.

The right panel shows Joseph working with the tools of a carpenter on his worktable; on the floor is an ax on a log and wooden shavings. He is seemingly unaware of the world-shaking event taking place in another room of his home. The open windows show a prosperous Northern European town. Here, too, Joseph’s clothes are in shades of brown, except for his blue turban and red sleeves poking out from his brown work clothes.

Giotto’s Stefaneschi

Much earlier than the Mérode, Giotto di Bondone—a titan of the Early Renaissance—painted a large triptych for a side altar in Old St. Peter’s Basilica. Each panel comes to a point, with the central panel being slightly taller. The artist painted both sides of this triptych so that the front could be seen by the public and the back could be seen by priests as they undertook their official duties at the altar.

This triptych painted in tempera lacks the brilliance achieved by oil paint, but it shows Giotto’s beautifully designed presentation of St. Peter, as Jesus’s earthly ambassador. The triptych was first installed in Old St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome and is now at the Pinacoteca Vaticana gallery, a Vatican museum. 

The Stefaneschi Triptych front side, circa 1330, by Giotto di Bondone. Tempera on wood, 70 inches by 39 inches (central panel); 66 inches by 32 and 1/2 inches (side panels). Pinacoteca Vaticana, Rome. (Public Domain)

In the center panel, St. Peter sits on a throne surrounded by saints and the donor of the piece, Cardinal Stefaneschi. The left panel shows Sts. Paul and James, and the right shows Sts. Andrew and John the Evangelist.

This triptych is made with a predella, or lower set of connected panels, which was popular at the time.

The back of this triptych shows Jesus enthroned and surrounded by angels, with Cardinal Stefaneschi sitting at his right foot. The death of St. Peter is depicted on the left and the death of St. Paul on the right. The predella on the back panel displays the Madonna and Child with an angel on each side of the throne, and the 12 apostles on each side of the center panel.

Both the front and the back center panels depict the cardinal. On the front, he is in full ceremonial costume and is introduced to St. Peter by St. George. On the back, the cardinal wears modest dress to identify with the church officials and to remind them of their humble place as servants of God. Artist and art historian of the Renaissance Giorgio Vasari cited Giotto’s ability to depict a true likeness as one of his greatest strengths, as shown in the cardinal’s portrait. 

The cardinal holds a smaller depiction of the triptych he is on, a technique called the “droste effect,” whereby the painting is shown in the painting as a smaller version of itself.

Detail of the front of the Stefaneschi triptych, circa 1320, by Giotto di Bondone, showing Cardinal Stefaneschi hold an image of the triptych. (Public Domain)

Martini and Memmi’s ‘Annunciation’

The triptych by celebrated artists of the Late Middle Ages Simone Martini and Lippo Memmi depicts the Annunciation and two saints.  The piece is actually one of a series of four grand triptychs made for Siena Cathedral to honor Sts. Ansanus, Sabinus of Spoleto, Crescentius, and Victor, the four patron saints of the city of Siena, Italy. Reminiscent of Byzantine icons that used a gold background to symbolize a heavenly realm, the piece incorporates decorative wood elements for each section. The panels are divided by swirling pillars. The central section is double the size of each side panel.

"Annunciation With Two Saints," 1333, by Simone Martini and Lippo Memmi. Tempera on wood; 8 feet, 8 inches by 10 feet. Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy. (Public Domain)

The saints depicted are St. Ansanus on the left panel and St. Margaret, also known as St. Maxima (who is said to have converted Ansanus), on the right panel. Above the decorated arches are small depictions of the prophets Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah, and Daniel in tondi (circular paintings).

In the central panel, Gabriel holds an olive branch, symbolizing peace, and points to the dove of the Holy Spirit above, as it descends from a mandorla (a large circle symbolizing paradise) of angels. The words he speaks to Mary are written in Latin, from Gabriel to Mary: “Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.” Showing the extent of trade in exotic fabrics with the Far East, Gabriel’s garb is made in a tartar cloth pattern, of fabric from the Mongol Empire. A vase of lilies in the center signifies Mary’s purity. With its depiction of the pavement receding toward the back wall, the painting was about 150 years ahead of its time in its use of perspective painting.

Van Der Goes’s Portinari

Banker Tommaso Portinari commissioned the Early Renaissance Flemish artist Hugo van der Goes to paint a hinged triptych around 1475 for the church in the hospital of Santa Maria Nuova in Florence, Italy. This triptych shows the moment of the Nativity as shepherds adore the newborn king.

The artist’s figures are proportioned to represent their importance. In the central panel, the newborn child Jesus is worshiped by Mary, Joseph, and angels, as three shepherds fall to their knees. Said to be based on visions of St. Bridget of Sweden, the scene shows the child Jesus not in a manger but on the floor.

In the central panel’s background, the artist takes us through time, showing Mary and Joseph on their way to Bethlehem. Under a beam, an angel announces the Prince of Peace to shepherds in the hills. Also, in the right panel, the three Magi travel to Bethlehem.

The Portinari Triptych, circa 1475, by Hugo van der Goes; 19 feet by 10 feet. Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy. (Public Domain)

Portinari himself is depicted on the left panel with his two sons, Antonio and Pigello, and their patron saints: Sts. Thomas (with the spear) and Anthony (with the bell). On the right panel are portraits of Portinari’s wife, Maria di Francesco Baroncelli, and daughter Margarita, with their patron saints: Sts. Mary Magdalen (with the pot of ointment) and Margaret (with the book and the dragon). The portraits are smaller than those of their patron saints.

Back panels of the Portinari Triptych, circa 1475, by Hugo van der Goes. Oil on wood; 19 feet by 10 feet. Uffizi Gallery. (Public Domain)

As it was a hinged triptych that could be closed, van der Goes painted the back of the panels. The artist used grisaille, the technique whereby a figure is painted to look like a sculpture. In this instance, the paintings are of Gabriel and Mary at the Annunciation.

McCubbin’s ‘Pioneer’

Even today, the triptych can inspire with its three-paneled format. In Australian artist Frederick McCubbin’s triptych “The Pioneer,” each panel tells a story of a family in the Australian bush. The figures represent the family of a “free selector,” a farmer who has chosen land to clear and farm.

"The Pioneer," 1904, by Frederick McCubbin. Oil on canvas; 7 feet, 4 inches by 9 feet, 6 inches. National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne. (Public Domain)

This piece tells a story from left to right. The left panel shows the couple deciding on the piece of land to farm. The wife in the foreground is deep in thought about their selection. In the background, the husband is making a fire. Their travel wagon, which is their temporary home, is behind him. They sit in a beautiful old-growth forest.

The central panel shows them taking a break from their labors of building their home. The man has been clearing land and time has passed. The wife carries their child to her husband, and they discuss mundane things related to their new farm. The family home is in the background, in a clearing.

The third panel shows a man kneeling over a grave. Again, time has passed, and the viewer can speculate whether the man is the pioneer, the baby who has grown to manhood, or a young stranger who has stumbled across the lone grave. The background shows a city, possibly Melbourne.

The artist painted en plein air, or outside in nature, in the bush on Mount Macedon, which is near the artist’s home. The tone is one of quiet optimism, of a prosperous future obtained through hard work.

Three may be better than one when artists use their skill and spiritual insight to tell a broader story, and that’s what a triptych does.